Joining the rising chorus against the outside voters in Jammu and Kashmir,  Ghulam Nabi Azad  said on Wednesday that outsiders should not be allowed to cast votes in the union territory.

“People from outside shouldn’t cast their vote in the UT. Only local voters should be allowed. They can vote in their states in a sealed envelope, as per the system,” said Azad who recently floated new Democratic Azad Party.  “The importance of voting in Jammu and Kashmir has been that only locals vote – be it Jammu or Kashmir.”

Earlier the PDP leader and former J&K leader Mehbooba Mufti also opposed the voting by outsiders saying this will change the demography and dilute the value of the vote of the original residents of the region. 

She said that  nowhere in the country except in Jammu and Kashmir, the outsiders are being allowed to vote. 

“BJP wants to eradicate the original citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and settle the outsiders,” Mufti said.

The Jammu administration on Tuesday issued an order authorizing revenue officials to issue certificates of residence to those residing in the winter capital for more than one year to facilitate their entry in the ongoing special summary revision of electoral rolls. The order was subsequently withdrawn.